It would be even better if with every 10 fill ups I could get a free Flat Branch Oil Change Oatmeal Stout!

Seriously, though, I think the answers to your questions really are, yes, BAs would like to shop at a store with great selection and, yes, if it were convenient to shop there, that wouldn't hurt. The magic isn't necessarily in the gas station itself but what you can offer us as beer shoppers while we're there. Hell, if my dry cleaner or Home Depot posted this question, I would be just as interested.

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What do you know about Flat Branch OCS? Most people outside of COMO have never even heard of it since they don't have any bottling or canning ops. Solid beer though, probably the first stout I actually liked. Flat Branch was my gateway into craft(10+yrs).

Turnover. A good bottle shop centralizes the market and then turns over beers that by definition do not have long shelf lives. A gas station might be convenient for some people, but the point of having craft beer at "your" gas station redistributes the product and would inevitably lead to a lot of shelf-sitters that may never be purchased - unless that particular gas station builds a reputation for having craft beer (becomes a centralized market) or only orders in very small quantities to account for the fact that the majority of the customers walking in will not be interested in that particular product.

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This should be the crux of the debate. There are several reasons to have reservations about gas-station beer sales:

1) Turnover--the point of gas station "supplies" is high volume. They get limited selection of stuff that people buy and turn it over quickly. Anything on the periphery will languish on the shelves forever. So I'd be worried about shelf-life.
2) Storage (overstock)--I've been to gas stations that push high volumes of soft drinks (with better prices than supermarkets) and BMC cases. The trouble is, high volume means that they have to be stored somewhere. And this somewhere often is on the pallets outside the store, sometimes covered, but still in full sun. Sometimes the cases are just stacked between the pumps. If they did that to craft cases, people would start ripping what's left of their hair out.
3) Storage (shelf space)--Aside from overstock, shelf space is also at a premium. Most mini-stores attached to gas stations are small. The largest a the size of a 7-Eleven, but those are usually full convenience stores. You get much larger ones at truck stops, but then you're also competing with spare parts and fuzzy dice (there is a couple of great examples of that on the IL/WI border). The bottom line is, with only a couple of full cooler doors, those are going to be filled with soft drinks, Gatorade and BMC. There's not going to be room for craft. So we're back to the cold/warm storage argument. The best stores with large beer sections would just have a large walk-in cooler and leave all their beer there, but that hardly seems realistic.
4) Convenience--Aside from the question of whose convenience we're talking about, this goes back to the high-volume, high-turnover sales. What is it that most people come there for? I'm all for specialization and it does seem to be a good way to boost the profit margin, especially when gas prices are high to the point of regulated markup. So it's a great idea to have a place you can pop into, grab a few bottles and be on the way--if you're there to buy gas, chances are you're not going to linger over the selection. But if this becomes a point of pilgrimage for hop-heads, then it begins to interfere with the basic operations. If the owner is OK with that, he should be able to lay out the space efficiently. If not, we're back to (1).

This thread shows one more reason why the PNW truly is Beervana. Not only is there good craft selection everywhere, because we drink so much craft as a whole, turn over isn't even an issue. Plus, I know a couple where there's still a few bottles B-Bomb floating around.

What do you know about Flat Branch OCS? Most people outside of COMO have never even heard of it since they don't have any bottling or canning ops. Solid beer though, probably the first stout I actually liked. Flat Branch was my gateway into craft(10+yrs).

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Actually I don't know much about it and am not sure I've even had if. I have just been drinking beer a long time and travel a lot so the name came to mind when I saw the title of the thread. After reading your comments I'm going to have to find some to try!

Actually I don't know much about it and am not sure I've even had if. I have just been drinking beer a long time and travel a lot so the name came to mind when I saw the title of the thread. After reading your comments I'm going to have to find some to try!

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Sadly my friend, you'll have to make a trip to Columbia to try it. They don't distribute, but they do have growlers available. Go hungry and thirsty though, the food there is excellent and they usually have at least 15 or more in house brews on tap. I think they brew over 50 different beers if you count their seasonal offerings and special releases.

What do you know about Flat Branch OCS? Most people outside of COMO have never even heard of it since they don't have any bottling or canning ops. Solid beer though, probably the first stout I actually liked. Flat Branch was my gateway into craft(10+yrs).

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I was in Columbia a couple years ago while my girlfriend interviewed for grad school there. We stopped at Flat Branch our first afternoon there, and were not disappointed. The food was great, and we ordered a flight of which the OCS was my favorite. Their chili beer was pretty enjoyable as well, their Cave Dweller Barleywine was fantastic. I may never be there again, but if I'm in Columbia I know where to go.

There's a Sunoco right down from my office that sells craft! It's weird to see Hoptimum and Nugget Nectar at a gas station! Everything's basically a buck more than the beverage or grocery store! I guess that's the convenience fee!

Here in Washington we can buy craft beer at gas stations but they don't always have the greatest selection. Although there are apparently some gas stations here and in OR which have taps for growler fills.

52 taps for growler fills, 300+ bombers,and easily the largest mix a six cooler I have ever seen, oh and they sell kegs too! Beervana and they keep getting bigger, brewers tastings on the horizon. Also 50% off old beer, which really isnt old, they just need to make space for new offerings. I have picked up La fin, collage, tilquin, Pepe Nero, and saison Dupont in the last month or so for less than 5$ ea.

Here in Tallahassee, FL I see SweetWater, Blue Point, occasional Terrapin, Great Divide, occasional Sam Adams, OBP and OBP Squared, Lazy Magnolia, and a few others. Nothing too amazing, but it's nice when heading to the golf course or party hopping or swinging in for a quick pick lotto. It's nice to have something good to scoop up without having to swing by my local beer shop. Wait, I just remembered seeing Sam Smith's at a local gas station recently.

i refuse to buy beer at a gas station. one time i asked to use the bathroom, the clerk said yea it was in the back...i go back there and there was so much overstock of products that there were beer cases in the bathroom, with open cases literally a foot from the toilet. nothing like a little salty piss on ur beer can. most of the beer cases were BMC so im sure their consumers wouldnt notice but still! lol distributors only for me

I bought a 6-pack of Ninkasi (don't remember which one) from a gas station while on vacation. I'm pouring it into a glass anyway, so the ambient atmosphere the bottle sits in before I purchase it doesn't concern me too much as long as the beer hasn't outlasted its shelf life.

I was staying with a friend at a Holistic healing institute in upstate NY. The closest "store" was a gas station about 10 minutes away. I know we bought DFH 90 minute and some other pretty good beers. I fully support the idea when it's executed well.

I went to a gas station in Cincinnati on Saturday. It was a normal looking little gas station with a snack shop, but my brother said they had a great beer selection. I was skeptical, but right by the counter they had a bunch of Enjoy By that was bottled last week, plus a couple bottles of Mango Magnifico, several Revolution bombers, and Bear Republic Cafe Racer 15. They also had a full walk in cooler with stuff from West Sixth, Green Flash, Troegs, Great Lakes and several other great breweries. I'd love to have a place like that by my house. The prices were pretty good too.

I have a gas station on my way home from work that has a small craft selection. They sell bombers of Sculpin for $6.50 and Ruination for $5.99. I usually go there instead of the cheaper store just across the street because I can grab a beer.

So had an idea that would be very convenient for a lot of us.. being able to buy your favorite craft beer at your local gas station.

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I actually stopped in at a gas station yesterday that filled growlers. They had a terrible selection.
The address is 240 Rolkin Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22911 - It was a Liberty gas, but I think it's an Exxon now?

Either way - they had 312 and Fat Tire on (as well as a few things I cared equally as little about). I liked the concept, but chances are good that a gas station isn't going to have the buying power to get really good kegs of things.

They had a counter-flow filler too, so it's not like the clerk had to do anything, really. About as complicated as one of those express dudes working a Blimpie sub counter or a mini Starbux express cafe.

There's a 24 hr gas station not too far from my house that carries a decent selection of craft, I go there all the time, another one down the street that carries a decent amount of craft as well, no problem with it being a gas station, it's a store as well so why can't they carry craft and why would it be any different than going to a liquor store? There are never any waits or special release events with any beer sold here, and if there was I don't think anything would change, so what if your at a gas station, you're still getting the beer that you want aren't you?

I know of some gas stations that have nice selections and actually sell through them freshly. The problem arises when a proprietor buys unwisely and sits on part of his inventory until it solidifies. It would behoove a gas station in a nice area of town to have a varied selection.